Rick & Mei(35)

Mei and I met in Amsterdam where she worked as a UX designer and I as a data analyst. Although Amsterdam is diverse, Mei regularly experienced microaggressions — subtle comments about her background, assumptions she was a tourist. We wanted a place where diversity truly sits at the core of society. Toronto, where half the population was born outside Canada, was the logical choice.

I had a CRS score of 465 through Express Entry, just above the cut-off. Mei came as an accompanying partner, which added extra points to our joint application. The entire process took eight months from profile creation to landing. We deliberately chose the Federal Skilled Worker category because Mei as a dependent would automatically receive an open work permit.

Toronto's diversity isn't just a statistic — you experience it daily. Our neighbourhood Scarborough has a Taiwanese bakery, a Surinamese grocery, an Indian spice shop and an Italian deli on the same street. Mei found a job within a month at a tech startup in the MaRS Discovery District. Her Taiwanese background and Dutch work experience made her particularly interesting for companies targeting the Asian market.

The housing market in Toronto is the big challenge. A two-bedroom apartment downtown costs CAD 2,500-3,000 per month. We chose a condo in Scarborough for half the price, with good TTC connections to downtown. The commute is longer than in Amsterdam, but the space and affordability compensate. We both opened a TFSA at our bank and immediately started saving for our own home.

We built our social life through Meetup groups and colleagues. Toronto has an active Dutch community — the Holland Marsh region north of the city even has an annual Dutch festival. But the beauty of Toronto is that you don't have to live in a bubble. Our friend network includes Koreans, Indians, Brazilians and born-and-raised Canadians. The multicultural dynamics make every social activity enriching.

After two years we have our PR cards, Mei has grown to senior UX lead and I work at one of the Big Five banks as a senior data analyst. We plan to buy our first home in the suburbs — perhaps Markham or Richmond Hill. Toronto is expensive and busy, but it's the most diverse city in the world and that makes it the best place for us to live.